The Love Bug
by Wynn of Hyrule
Summary: This is one of my older fics, so take that into mind. Black Arachnia is confronted by Megatron about her feelings for Silverbolt. Later, when Silverbolt is infected by a cyber-virus, it is up to her to save him. But can she reach the antidote in time?


Disclaimer 

Beast Wars and all other trademarked stuff belongs to various people, including Hasbro, I think. Please, whoever you are, do not sue me. Any comments, criticisms, and compliments go to [hyrules_hero@hotmail.com][1]. Thanks, and enjoy!!!

The Love Bug

A shooting star, oblivious to anything below it, shot across the sky. Its was a short flash of color, but its quick disappearance did nothing to steal from its beauty. Maybe it added to its wonder.

Far below the shooting star, a mountain range hovered above the valleys it protected. Its was a constant beauty, never-changing. It was solemn, firm. 

"Black Arachnia...." 

Silverbolt lowered his head. He turned and walked away, leaving nature's splendor behind him. 

******

"Hey, sugah-bot, howz about a little kiss?" drawled Quickstrike.

"Bug off," hissed Black Arachnia, slamming the Fuzor's head into a wall. 

The snake/scorpion slid to the floor, a happy look to his dazed face. "What a girl..." 

Black Arachnia stormed into Megatron's command center. "What's the meaning of this new plan you've schemed up??" she demanded angrily, her black eyes seeming livid with anger. 

"Ahh, Black Arachnia..." rumbled the Predacon general. "What plan do you refer to? Perhaps it has slipped my memory, yesss..." 

Black Arachnia's eyes narrowed, not with doubt, but with sheer fury. "Your new plan to get rid of the Maximals! The one where I am responsible with infecting the Maximal force with a cyber-virus!" 

Megatron laughed. "Ahh, that one. A cunning masterpiece, yesss? Do you have any problems with it?" The last words carried an ominous tone, an obvious threat. 

"Yes! Why, how do you think I'm going to do this? I'm not going to just traipse up to them and say, hey, have a free immunization on me?" 

Megatron chuckled, but his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Perhaps not. I understand you have been having, how do you say, liasons, with the traitor Silverbolt. Now-" 

Black Arachnia's mouth dropped. "No..." The word was the ghost of a whisper. 

"Do not allow yourself to forget this a war we are fighting, spider! If you allow your feelings for the enemy get in the way, then you are no longer useful. And those who are no longer useful..." He let the sentence drop, the threat hanging over her like a cloud. 

She shuddered. She couldn't disobey, or she was a goner. But, Silverbolt was...what? What was so irresistible about the foolish, thick-skulled bowser? He was just another tube-headed, brainless, dim-witted, heroic, valiant, noble... 

She cut herself off. She couldn't go on like this. She had an important decision to make. She just had to choose between her loyalty, which all knew to consist of very little, or her life, and her heart. 

But, as far as her heart went, the true question, the one even she knew not the answer to, was, did she have one? 

******

"Silverbolt!"

Silverbolt started, coming out of his self-induced trance with a shock. "Yes, Optimus?" 

"You have scout-duty. Cheetor just returned, and he mentioned an anomaly on his scanners. It could be a prelude to another Predacon attack. Check it out." 

Silverbolt saluted his commander smartly. "Yessir! I shall check our villainous foe, and insure the blight of our enemy is swept from the very earth we stand upon!" With that courageous speech, he turned, going beast mode. The bird/dog Fuzor flew out a hatch, and was gone. 

Optimus chuckled quietly to himself. "So, Big Monkey, ya taking notes for ya own boring speeches?" yapped a voice from behind the ape Transformer. 

Optimus smirked. "Be quiet, Rattrap. Or else you'll get to join him on patrol, and you will have plenty of opportunities to take lessons in drawn-out soliloquoys." 

The rat-form bot shuddered, and, for perhaps the first time in his existence, shut his mouth. 

******

Silverbolt soared high above the land, his canine face in concentration as he scoured the land for any sign of Predacons. He almost hoped to find a Pred. A fight would be good for the fluid-pump, thought he. And, perhaps if he found a certain Pred, it wouldn't be a fight he got... 

He shook his head, trying to return his mind to his task. Now was not the time to be thinking of the beautiful being that held his heart... 

He blinked, certain he was hallucinating. There, below, as if called by his own lonely mind, walked the black and gold spider. She seemed lost in thought, and hadn't noticed him. 

He frowned. It would be rude to barge in on a lady unbidden. But, these were dangerous times, and he certainly couldn't allow her to walk unescorted! It was up to him to protect her, to be with her... He smiled, transforming and swooping down to his beloved. 

******

Black Arachnia walked alone. Her head was whirling with the thoughts of her current dilemma. She had been pondering the matter the entire trip from the Predacon base, and was no nearer to her decision. But, the Maximal headquaters were steadily becoming closer, as was the time where she would be forced to make a choice. 

"Milady!" called a husky voice. She jumped into the air with surprise, shocked out of her inner thoughts. Down swooped the center of her dilemma, oblivious to her strife and grinning like a blasted fool! 

"Slag it, you overgrown Doberman! You nearly made my fluid-pump skip a beat!" 

Silverbolt bowed to her as she went robot-mode, his eyes alive. "Perhaps I could arrange to do it again?" 

She chuckled, amused by his sly advance. "Don't get your hopes up. You'd probably drool if you kissed me." 

The canine Maximal seemed offended by her comment. "Why, I would never-" 

Black Arachnia cut him off by placing a claw on his shoulder, all thoughts of her previous conflict vanished. "Of course, the only way to know is to try it..." 

The two Transformers' faces drew nearer. Their lips nearly met when absolute disaster struck. 

"Sugah-bot! Get away from that dadgum tinhorn!" drawled Quickstrike, leaping out from a rock near where they were standing. Silverbolt's back faced him, and the hero felt a twinge of pain between his wings. 

"Argh!" grunted the winged dog, turning to face the Predacon scorpion. Already, Quickstrike's cobra head pointed at the Maximal, but no laser blast had yet fired. Silverbolt knew something was amiss; he had felt pain, yet not as much as from a laser. 

"How dare you infringe upon the honor of my lady with such a crude name!" Silverbolt bellowed, his wings lowering to point at the Predacon. Two shots flared out, and slammed into Quickstrike. With a final howl, Quickstrike was sent flying off, the missiles sending his semi-conscious body out of sight and out of mind. 

Black Arachnia barely saw the short-lived battle. Her attention was drawn to a small cylinder jutting out of Silverbolt's back, one identical to a cylinder she possessed. The cyber-virus. 

With a swipe of her claw, she knocked the half-empty vial out of his back. The hero yelped, spinning to face her. 

"Sorry, these claws are sharper than I thought," she said desperately, her thoughts a jumble. She didn't want to tell him the truth, but he was surely infected! Without an antidote... 

"Ugh...that battle seemed to take more out of me than I had thought. Perhaps we can see each other soon, but, begging your pardon, I must leave," he said weakly, the virus already playing its deadly game with his body's systems. He turned, spread his wings to fly, and was off. He was barely ten paces from her when he fell from the air in a heap, as if shot from the air. He landed hard, his body crumpled. Black Arachnia cried out, running to him. Her white knight was down. But, was he beyond help? 

******

Megatron, alone in his dark home, chuckled. "Now, the Maximals shall perish, yesss..."

He had known the traitorous spider would try to deceive him. By his foreseeing that inevitable, he had known to send a second arm of wrath: the semi-incompetent Quickstrike. The brash, destruction-loving cowboy bot would love to see the Maximals scrapped, but had objected to the means, which he had labeled 'sissie-fied'. But, he had gone, perhaps driven by a personal desire to see the competition for Black Arachnia eliminated. 

It was no matter now. The traitor Silverbolt was as good as dead, and he would carry the disease, which would spread to infect others after its host's death, to the other Maximals. 

Victory belonged to Megatron. 

******

Black Arachnia grunted under the weight of the stocky hero she was carrying, more like dragging, to the Maximal base. She knew she wouldn't be the least likely to receive a warm welcome, but it was imperative that Silverbolt was saved.

"Optimus! There's something on the scanners!" rumbled Rhinox, the color of the scanners reflecting off his green forehead. 

"What is it?" asked Optimus, ready for action. 

"It appears to be Silverbolt! He is hurt! And he is being dragged here by..." the rhino Transformer's voice became thoughtful, "Black Arachnia!" 

"What?" asked a shocked Optimus. "Open the hatch! I'll go out and retrieve him!" 

As the hatches on the roof slowly opened, Optimus frowned. Black Arachnia was easily the most treacherous of the Predacons. Why would she assist Silverbolt, the champion of the Maximals? It made no sense. 

Optimus soared out of the base, flying straight for the ailing Silverbolt and his eight-legged companion. Black Arachnia watched him come, a feeling of unease taking her. Would Optimus try to fight her for the ailing Silverbolt, when all she wanted was help for her hero? Or would he merely take him and leave, not offering her the chance to explain? She definitely didn't trust the over-grown monkey bot, and didn't want to leave Silverbolt's side. 

Optimus Primal stopped, looking to Black Arachnia. He noticed how she hovered over the prone body of his ally, almost protectively. Without a word, he lowered himself, scooping up Silverbolt. "Come on." Those were his only words before he flew towards the base. With a heavy heart and a taste of distrust for the Maximal force, Black Arachnia hesitantly followed. 

******

"Now, tell me, Big Guy, what is 'ole Spidey doing here? She's a Pred! A nice-looking one, but she's a Pred still! Even worse, a FEMALE Pred!" Rattrap, his entire spiel a loud hissed whisper, shuddered at the last. It was obvious the street-wise Maximal had had some very bad experiences with female Predacons...or perhaps just female Transformers in general.

Optimus sighed, world-weary. "She's here because she knows what happened to Silverbolt. Plus, she saved him by bringing him here. The least we can do is thank her," Optimus said, but it was obvious his own doubts of the arachnid warrior had not totally evaporated. 

Rattrap hefted his blaster. "Well, HERE'S my thanks for her. Slag it, Optimus, she's a slaggin' Pred!" 

The 'Big Ape' shook his head. "We are not to confront her, at least not before she has told us about Silverbolt." 

Meanwhile, Black Arachnia was being interrogated by a third Maximal, Rhinox. "Now, you say he was shot by this 'cyber-virus', but you knocked the dart away before it totally drained into him, correct?" Seeing her mutely nod, he turned to Optimus, calling the leader to come closer. 

"What have you discovered?" Optimus asked. Behind his back, Rattrap was busying himself with giving Black Arachnia a rather rude gesture, while the spider-bot sneered at the 'vermin' in response. 

Rhinox consulted several electronic charts sullenly, then faced the larger Transformer. "He indeed has a cyber-virus, as Miss Arachnia informed us. This virus is obviously quite deadly, and is wreaking havoc on his systems. If she hadn't removed the dart as swiftly as she had..." The green bot shuddered. "He would already be gone. He is practically dying as we speak, however. We must do something as soon as possible!" 

Optimus considered the rhino's words for a second. He was trying to ignore Rattrap, who was proudly displaying his collection of Predacon body parts, which was expected. It didn't take a genius to figure out the rat liked Black Arachnia about as much as he liked poisoned cheese. "Is there a cure?" 

Rhinox's eyes lowered. "Perhaps. But there is little chance we have it here at the base. Our best hope is an antidote. If I'm right, it would take only the smallest drop to heal Silverbolt completely." 

"And if an antidote exists, then it is certainly in the paws of the Predacons." Optimus turned, looking to Black Arachnia. She was busying herself by sharpening her claws, ignoring Rattrap, which indeed was difficult for the most focused of bots. Optimus couldn't help but notice the deadly sharpness of those claws. She was a killer, for certain. But she was perhaps their only hope. 

"Black Arachnia, a word, please." She slowly faced Optimus, doubt, suspicion, and perhaps a trace of fear in her black eyes. She moved forward in a motion that could not be described as walking. Her step was that of a predator, a stalk as she hunted those that opposed her. 

"Yes?" she asked impatiently. Her portrayed herself as heartless and uncaring, but Optimus saw through her facade. Deep inside, perhaps in a place she didn't even know existed, she was mad with worry over the ailing Silverbolt. 

"We are having difficulties. This disease is spreading rapidly through him, and soon he will be beyond help. The CR Chamber has had no effect. We need an antidote to save him, and soon! Do you know of one, perhaps one the Predacons developed to cure themselves if they were infected?" 

Black Arachnia sneered, ready to tell Optimus that she would certainly never help them, the enemy, but stopped. Her black eyes fell on the figure of Silverbolt, whose chest rose and fell as he took ragged breaths. Her features softened. 

"I will help," she said hesitantly, her gaze never leaving Silverbolt. Optimus nodded, satisfied. But, it was still doubtful they would be able to retrieve the antidote in time. And if they didn't, Silverbolt was a goner. 

******

Black Arachnia peered over the edge of a rock cautiously, searching the areas near the Predacon base for any sign of her comrades. Not a single sentry could be seen. The air was broodingly silent, and Black Arachnia grimaced. It was much, much too quiet.

"All clear," she hissed to the small group of Maximals behind her. Optimus had gathered a portion of the Maximal force in order to assist Black Arachnia in her attempt. Rhinox had opted to stay behind. Rattrap had volunteered, or more likely had been volunteered, to come, much to his displeasure. Optimus had decided to lead the band. Cheetor, a feline warrior youth, had also followed. 

Optimus nodded. "Here's the plan. Black Arachnia, you will enter the base as usual, and then when the base empties, search for the antidote. We will attack the base, a feint that will distract the Predacons." 

"And more than likely get us scrapped," Rattrap mumbled. 

"If my fellow Predacons blasted you, it would be a blessing!" 

Rattrap's eyes grew. "Oh, yeah? Listen, Legs, I-" 

"Enough! Black Arachnia, go!" Optimus ordered angrily. 

Black Arachnia nodded, sending a final hateful glance towards the rat Maximal. Rattrap sneered at her cockily, hand resting on his blaster. The female Predacon then climbed over the rock that had shielded the group from the eyes of the soldiers within the base. She began walking closer towards the shipwreck that served as her home. Her gait was a limp, and she cradled an arm as if badly injured. Optimus smiled as he watched her performance. Rattrap snorted. "Ya know, I could make her injuries a bit more realistic..." 

He promptly shut up as his two allies shot him dangerous stares. 

****** 

Black Arachnia entered the base, heading for the dim chamber of Megatron. She stumbled in, her role as a wounded warrior certainly very convincing. She limped weakly up to a platform from where she could address the Predacon leader.

"What in the name of the Pit happened to you?" he demanded, shocked. Black Arachnia noted his reaction with pride. 

"I...was on my way to the Maximal base, and...and a whole group...there must have been ten...ambushed..." She ended the story with a wheezing cough. 

Megatron frowned. "Well, well. It seems Optimus has stepped up his security. No matter, I have received word that one of the traitors, Silverbolt, has been infected. Soon, all the Maximals shall be dead, yesss. Now, to the CR Chamber with you. You shall need to be at full strength for our final decisive victory!" 

Black Arachnia nodded, leaving the chamber with a final hacking cough. She smiled as she turned a corner. She had completely fooled that imbecile Megatron! 

However, the spider was too busy congratulating herself to notice the suspicious frown on the face of her commander. He knew she would die before she showed any weakness, and she had just appeared totally helpless. Something was amiss...WHAM! 

Megatron was jolted out of his chair as an explosion rocked the base. WHAM! He climbed to his feet, his eyes widening. That sound could only mean one thing. Trouble. 

******

"Ugh!" Rattrap grunted as he chucked another charge-pack at the base. The automated cannons, those that hadn't already been destroyed, were firing at the group of Maximals, creating a web of firepower. It was by sheer luck that the three were able to dodge, but each knew that it wouldn't last.

(Come on, Legs, hurry!) Rattrap thought worriedly, a red laser flying past his head. 

******

"ALL PREDACONS, EXIT THE BASE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"

Black Arachnia sneered as she heard the alarms. It wouldn't be long before the base was empty. She strode quickly towards the laboratory, her best hope for finding a cure for Silverbolt. 

She rounded the corner to the lab. Little did she know, she tripped a motion sensor, part of Magatron's security system. A large laser cannon dropped from the ceiling, aiming for her head. 

(Booby-trap!) she thought, hurling herself to the side while drawing her own blaster. The cannon's shot burned through the air where her head had just been. Her own blast was dead on target, turning the cannon into flaming shrapnel. 

"Paranoid fossil!" she hissed, referring to her leader. She stepped forward, ready to proceed into the lab. 

She almost didn't dodge the second blast as another cannon dropped from the roof. 

Gasping for breath as the remains of the second cannon fell to the floor, Black Arachnia began to doubt the advantages of being a Predacon. 

******

"Predacons, attack!" bellowed Megatron. His entire force dashed forward, ready to wipe the Maximals from the face of the planet. The three Maximals watched them come, their faces falling and mouths dropping.

"Wassspinator will crush cat-bot!" buzzed the hornet Predacon, his stinger-weapon at ready. A second later, a blast slammed into him, sending pieces of him flying in all directions. 

Rattrap watched the parts fall with regret, hoping to snag some of them for his collection later. Waspinator did consist of the majority of his collection, as the dopey bug was the clumsiest, most idiotic, and the worst fighter of the Preds. Yet, thanks to the wonders of the CR Chamber, he would always come back for more, and more, and more... 

"I shall feed on your fear, Maximal!" rumbled a crab-form Predacon, his triple-barreled cannon leveled at the mouse. Rattrap gulped, recognizing the near invincible Ramage. He ducked as blast after blast flew over him, shots that would leave a hole in him big enough to fly a cruiser through. 

"Feed on dis!" yelled the warrior, sending his last charge pack flying towards the abomination. Rampage howled in anger as the pack bounced off his forehead, and he fumbled trying to grab it. The explosive became an expanding cloud of reds and yellows, sending the crab flying away. He slammed in a rocky cliff, and slumped to the ground. Rocks, jolted from their home by his collision with the wall, buried the evil creature. 

"Burnnn, Maximal!" yelled the ant warrior, Inferno, as he swooped down upon Optimus, weapons blazing. Optimus ducked under the fire, and leaped skyward, behind the flying ant. He grabbed onto one of the propellers that jutted from the insane Predacon's backside, wrenching it, sending the blades spinning the other way. 

"Wha-?" Inferno said, losing control. He soared backward, slamming into a stone wall. He slid to the ground, out cold. 

But, even with several down, the Predacons battled on. The Maximals were tiring, and they yet had other foes to face. Their survival depended on Black Arachnia's speedy return, and their was no sign of her. Rattrap sighed. She had betrayed them, and they would die for trusting her. 

******

Far away, an eye shot open. It weakly fluttered, then opened completely. Black Arachnia was in danger!

"Lay back down!" ordered the voice of Rhinox, trying to stop him. But, it was too late. Before the massive Maximal could catch his friend, the hero was making for the exit, in his beast mode. 

Rhinox moaned, watching the other fly away. There would be no saving that one this time, he thought grimly. 

******

Black Arachnia dashed for the exit of the base a blue vial in her claw. She had found it! She had the antidote!

Now, just to find Silverbolt, thought she. She saw the light of the day streaming into the base, through the entrance. (Almost there...) So concentrated was she, she didn't hear the door of the CR Chamber open, and a Predacon step out. 

"Sugah-bot!" shouted Quickstrike, stepping into her path. Her eyes widened as she slammed into him at full speed, the vial flying out of her claws and into the air. 

Her eyes followed the small blue cylinder as it spiraled upwards, then began its trip back down, called by gravity. It moved as if in slow-motion, and she knew if it reached the ground, all hopes for Silverbolt would be lost. 

She shoved Quickstrike out of the way, to his loud protest. She dove to the ground, claws desperately grasping as the vial came closer to the ground. It was a race, between her and gravity, with Silverbolt's life hanging in the balance. 

(Almost...) 

To her utter dismay, the sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the corridors. The liquid splashed over her face and claws, coating her in the fluid that could have saved her love's life. She was too late. 

She stood, feeling emptiness take her. She had had it... 

"Sugah-bot, wat's wrong with you? I didn't expect spider stampedes!" quipped Quickstrike, not understanding what had just occurred. 

Black Arachnia felt the despair wash over her. It was quickly replaced with rage. Megatron would die for harming Silverbolt! But first, she had to get rid of this idiot. 

"Didn't you know there was a fight going on outside?" she asked. 

"A fight? Yee-hah! Looks like I'm going to get to whip some Maximal tail!" hooted Quickstrike, dashing for the exit. He never saw Black Arachnia's foot scythe out, sending him to the floor. His eyes dimmed as he was sent to his dreams. 

Black Arachnia stepped out, clutching her weapon. Time to kill a dinosaur, she thought grimly. 

******

She stepped out into a battlefield. Before her, two combatants stood, in mortal combat. Only Megatron and Optimus still fought. All the other Predacons were either in peices or taking an enemy-induced nap. Cheetor had been wounded by a blast from Megatron's cannon, and Rattrap was trying to save his ally, along with himself.

As Black Arachnia watched, Optimus leapt over Megatron. He swung with all his might, but the Predacon ducked, whirling, his arm out. Optimus was knocked away. His foe charged his cannon, ready to finish the fight, but he saw Black Arachnia. He saw the blue liquid on her face and claws, and the fear in her eyes. He had obviously figured her treachery out when he pointed his arm-cannon at her and yelled, "Die, Maximal scum!" 

Black Arachnia closed her eyes, ready for the final agony of death. At least I shall be with Silverbolt, she consoled herself. She flinched as she heard an explosion, but realized it had come from in front of her, not from her own body being turned into scrap. 

She opened her eyes, looking to the ground where Megatron had stood. Instead, the villain was a distance away, trying to stand. And swooping from the air... 

"Milady!" he gasped, landing at her feet. He shuddered as he landed, exhausted by his flight. The virus was still taking its toll, but Silverbolt was fighting it as much as he would a physical foe. 

"What are you doing, Bowser?" she demanded, but her voice was much too soft in her own opinion. She started to touch him, to make sure he was real and alive, but never got the chance. 

"Why won't you die?" Megatron howled, cannon at ready. Silverbolt whirled, clutching a pair of his wing missiles, but Megatron's shot sent him back to the air, and his landing was hard. Black Arachnia cried in dismay as she realized Silverbolt wouldn't be getting up for a while. 

"Now, Black Arachnia, for crimes against the Predacons, I will execute you! Prepare to meet your maker!" Megatron rumbled, cannon locked on her. She reached for her blaster, but knew she wouldn't reach it in time. 

"Villain, I will slay you myself!" came a voice from near Black Arachnia's side. To all's immense surprise, there was Silverbolt, flapping towards Megatron. The purple Predacon took aim for the bird/dog Fuzor, but a pair of wing missiles caught him in the gut before he got a shot off. The explosion sent him through a boulder, and he stopped far from where Black Arachnia stood. 

Silverbolt pursued him, more missiles in hand. He had nearly reached Megatron when the other stood, and began blasting at him with full force. Silverbolt dodged the shots, moving through sheer willpower. The truth was, the Fuzor's body was nearly gone, and it was doubtful even his desire to save his love could carry him through this battle. 

Silverbolt let a pair of his missiles fly, then immediately drew two more, sending them the way of their companions. Megatron took careful aim, sending four shots careening at the missiles. Boom! Boom! Boom! BOOM! 

"Noooo!" screamed Megatron. His fourth shot had missed, but Silverbolt's missile hadn't. The explosion sent the evil leader flying off a nearby cliff, his howl following him down. 

Silverbolt allowed himself a brief smile. He then gasped in pain, clutching his metallic chest. He slowly collapsed, seeing everything grow dark. He felt as if he were falling. 

Through the dimness surrounding his mind, he saw the face of Black Arachnia. "My love," he gasped, the words he knew would be his last. He saw her smile, and her face lower to meet his. She kissed him one last time, and he closed his eyes. 

Black Arachnia stood, her heart dying with Silverbolt. She had lost him, after all they had been through...She would have cried, but her grief far surpassed tears. She took one last look to the prone body of Silverbolt, Maximal hero and her own knight in shining armor... 

And gasped in surprise as one eye shot open. 

"Am I dead? I see an angel..." he mumbled, a grin appearing on his face. 

Black Arachnia was hit by a dozen emotions at once. Not knowing what to do or say, she focused on one familiar emotion. 

"You might be after I get finished with you! You almost scared me to death! My fluid pump practically went on vacation, it skipped so many beats!" she snarled. 

Silverbolt, seeing through her act of rage to her true happiness, laughed. "I am not so easily defeated," he said confidently, climbing to his feet. 

His answer was a mere, "Hmph!" 

"Anyways, I must thank you for saving me. I owe you much," Silverbolt continued, giving her a slight bow. 

Black Arachnia gave him a calculating look. "Don't you forget it, Jojo." 

"Perhaps I can start repaying you," the Fuzor said, a sly smile coming to his face. 

"Maybe..." Black Arachnia returned his grin. The two came closer again, staring into each others eyes, oblivious to the rest of the world around them. 

******

Optimus groaned as the world again came into focus. He looked up to see Rattrap peering over a nearby rock at some spectacle that Optimus couldn't see. Optimus groggily wondered why the rat's eyes were so big. It was if he had seen a ghost.

"Man o man, you would think that they would have to come up for air, or somethin'," Rattrap said quietly. 

Optimus stood, searching out what had shocked Rattrap so. He chuckled when he saw Silverbolt and Black Arachnia wrapped up in an embrace, faces locked in a long lasting kiss. Optimus's best guess was that the antidote that had splashed over Black Arachnia had been transferred into the dying Silverbolt, probably during a last kiss, and it had cured him. Rhinox had said that it would only take a drop of the antidote, and it hadn't had time to dry. 

"It's time to go, Rattrap. We have to get home, and those two need some time alone." 

Rattrap nodded, but didn't move from his spot. Optimus sighed, laying a hand on the other's shoulder and hauling him away. Optimus stopped to pick up a semi-conscious Cheetor, and the three left Silverbolt and Black Arachnia alone together. 

******

That night, another shooting star illuminated the sky. It flew with even more splendor than the ones before it. Its beauty drew the eyes of most to the sky.

The mountains fought the shooting star, their beauty a fair match for the other. Their snow-capped peaks rose to the sky as if clutching at the light to pluck it from the sky. They watched over everything, and proclaimed they were the most beautiful of all. 

Silverbolt, alone on a peak, paid the competitors no mind. His thoughts dwelled on the one he loved. So enraptured by the thoughts of Black Arachnia was he that he didn't hear the soft footsteps behind him. 

He finally whirled, searching out the intruder. He stopped when he found it, and smiled. His eyes brightened as he and Black Arachnia came together. The two meet in a kiss, deep and full of love. 

The shooting star and the mountains looked down to the pair. It was remarkable, it seemed the magnificent sights had changed. It was if both natural beauties were united, together in their jealousy of the even more beautiful sight that out-shone them both. The sight of true love. 

   [1]: mailto:hyrules_hero@hotmail.com



End file.
